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2 KINGS 7

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Elisha Promises Food
  7:1 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” The Syrians Flee
3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.” 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.
    
9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.” 10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.” 11 Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told within the king’s household. 12 And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’” 13 And one of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, seeing that those who are left here will fare like the whole multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send and see.” 14 So they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the army of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.” 15 So they went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, all the way was littered with garments and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.
    
16 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord. 17 Now the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. And the people trampled him in the gate, so that he died, as the man of God had said when the king came down to him. 18 For when the man of God had said to the king, “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” 19 the captain had answered the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate and he died.



2 KINGS 8

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The Shunammite’s Land Restored
  8:1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.” Hazael Murders Ben-hadad
7 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” 8 the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels’ loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” 13 And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” 14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place. Jehoram Reigns in Judah
16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 19 Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.
    
20 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own. 21 Then Joram passed over to Zair with all his chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his army fled home. 22 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 24 So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. Ahaziah Reigns in Judah
25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.
    
28 He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. 29 And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.



PROVERBS 7

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Warning Against the Adulteress
7:1
My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
2
keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
3
bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5
to keep you from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words.

6
For at the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7
and I have seen among the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man lacking sense,
8
passing along the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house
9
in the twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.

10
And behold, the woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
11
She is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home;
12
now in the street, now in the market,
and at every corner she lies in wait.
13
She seizes him and kisses him,
and with bold face she says to him,
14
“I had to offer sacrifices,
and today I have paid my vows;
15
so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16
I have spread my couch with coverings,
colored linens from Egyptian linen;
17
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
18
Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
19
For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
20
he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home.”

21
With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
22
All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast
23
till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24
And now, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25
Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
26
for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are a mighty throng.
27
Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.



PSALM 68

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God Shall Scatter His Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68:1
God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2
As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3
But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!

4
Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
5
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6
God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7
O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
8
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9
Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10
your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11
The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
12
“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
13
though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14
When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.

15
O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16
Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17
The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18
You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

19
Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21
But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22
The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23
that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

24
Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25
the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines:
26
“Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
27
There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28
Summon your power, O God,
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
30
Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31
Nobles shall come from Egypt;
Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

32
O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33
to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34
Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
35
Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!



PSALM 69

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Save Me, O God
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.
69:1
Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
2
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
3
I am weary with my crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.

4
More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
must I now restore?
5
O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

6
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
O God of Israel.
7
For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that dishonor has covered my face.
8
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my mother’s sons.

9
For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10
When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
11
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12
I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.

13
But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14
Deliver me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15
Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me.

16
Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17
Hide not your face from your servant,
for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18
Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies!

19
You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
20
Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
21
They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

22
Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23
Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
24
Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.
25
May their camp be a desolation;
let no one dwell in their tents.
26
For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27
Add to them punishment upon punishment;
may they have no acquittal from you.
28
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

29
But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

30
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31
This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32
When the humble see it they will be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33
For the Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

34
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35
For God will save Zion
and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36
the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

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